Texans' Tyrann Mathieu: Focusing on safety position

by
RotoWire Staff

May 16, 2018
• 1 min read
UpdateMay 16, 2018, 1:31pm

The Texans want Mathieu to focus on playing safety, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. "We told [Mathieu] that we really do value versatility, but we also understand that a guy needs to have basically one home," Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said. "He needs to understand and master that one home, which is safety for Tyrann. Then, in different packages that are played less of the time, maybe he does something else."

Mathieu played a steady mix of safety and slot corner during his time in Arizona, and also received a few looks as an outside corner and nickel linebacker. He led the NFL in both defensive snaps (1,056) and total snaps (1,263) last season, but hasn't quite looked like the best version of himself since suffering the second ACL tear of his career late in the 2015 campaign. With starting free safety Andre Hal returning and slot corner Aaron Colvin also signed this offseason, Mathieu will likely open training camp as the starter at strong safety, a favorable spot for piling up tackles.